The One Great Golf Shot Theory

I’ve recently read a book (The Energy Bus) by Jon Gordon, who in one of the chapters shares a story that has changed the way I see my days: the good ones and especially the not-so-good ones.

The book talked about how after people play a round of golf they usually don’t think about all the bad shots they made but rather always remember and focus on the one great shot they had that day. The thought and feeling they get when thinking about this shot makes them want to play again and again; this is why so many people get addicted to golf. The book then contrasted this with life and how people often go to bed thinking about all the things that went wrong when instead they should apply the one great golf shot theory to their life and think about the one great thing that happened that day. The one great call, meeting, or sale; the one great conversation or interaction; the one great success that will inspire them to look forward to creating more success tomorrow. This, the book said, “will inspire people to get addicted to life”.

If golf players hit an average of 70-100 shots and only remember that one great shot, how it felt and how badly they want to play again, why couldn’t we do the same with the events that happen to us every day? Why can’t we focus on the great thing that happened today rather than the 50 plain or bad things that occurred?

Since I read the chapter, every night before I go to bed I focus on the best thing that happened to me that day. In my case, I’ve decided to share it with my 5-month son as a way to have a special bond together before we go to sleep, and the results so far have been incredible (it’s much more powerful when you say it out loud).

This has also opened my eyes in two ways: 1) It’s amazing how, even on a really bad day, there is always something good that happened to us. Yes, sometimes we gotta dig a bit deeper to find it, but it’s there. 2) On a given day, when we think about all the events that happened to us, there are a lot more success moments than failure moments.

I invite you to try this, to find those good moments in your day and to reflect on them. It also helps to ask those around you (your family, friends, spouse, co-workers) about the best moments they had in their day for three reasons: we’ll show that we care about them; their positive thoughts will help us find our good moments more easily; and, by asking, you might be surprised to find out that you are responsible for some of the good things that happened to them too.